Over the past two decades, Japan’s socioeconomic environment has undergone considerable changes prompted by both a long recession and the relaxation of particular labour laws in the 1990s and 2000s. Within this context, "freeters", part-time workers aged between fifteen and thirty-four who are not housewives or students, emerged into the public arena as a social problem. This book, drawing on six years of ethnographic research, takes the lives of male freeters as a lens to examine contemporary ideas and experiences of adult masculinities. It queries how notions of adulthood and masculinity are interwoven and how these ideals are changing in the face of large-scale employment shifts. Highlighting the continuing importance of productivity and labour in understandings of masculinities, it argues that men experience and practice multiple masculinities which are often contradictory, sometimes limiting, and change as they age and in interaction with others, and with social structures, institutions, and expectations. Providing a fascinating alternative to the stereotypical idea of the Japanese male as a salaryman, this book will be of huge interest to students and scholars of Japanese culture and society, social and cultural anthropology, gender and men's studies.

Basing his work on a study of 120 American men and drawing on years of experience in dealing with men's issues, Dr. Levant shows men how to change facets of traditional behavior patterns that limit their effectiveness as lovers, husbands, fathers, and friends, while enhancing those parts of the male code which are meaningful and empowering.

This book considers issues of social and ecological significance through a masculinities lens. Earth – our home for aeons – is reeling. The atmosphere is heating up, causing reefs to bleach, fisheries to collapse, regions to flood and dry, vast tracts to burn, the polar ice caps to melt, ancient glaciers to retreat, biodiversity to decline exacerbated by the sixth great extinction, and more. Meanwhile, social and economic disparities are widening. Pandemics are cauterising glocal communities and altering our social mores. Nationalism is feeding divisiveness and hate, especially through men’s violence. Politically extreme individuals and groups are exalting freedom while scapegoating the marginalised. Such are the symptoms of an emerging (m)Anthropocene. This anthology contends with these alarming trends, pointing our attention towards their gendered origins. Building on our monograph Ecological Masculinities: Theoretical Foundations and Practical Guidance (2018), this collection of essays is framed as a dinner party conversation grouped into six discursive themes. Their views reflect a growing community of practice, whose combined efforts capture the most recent perspectives on masculine ecologisation. Together, they aim to help create a more caring world for all, moving the ecological masculinities conversation forward as it becomes an established, international, and pluralised field of study.

Everyday Masculinities in 21st-Century China: The Making of Able-Responsible Men argues that a moral dimension in Chinese masculinity is of growing significance in fast-changing China. ‘Able-responsible men’—those who can create wealth and shoulder responsibilities—have replaced the ‘moneyed elite’ of the earlier reform-and-opening-up era as the dominant male ideal. With vivid and highly readable case studies, Wong presents a compelling account of the forces that coerce men to live up to the able-responsible standard. She demonstrates the impact this pressure has on the lives of not only boys and men, but also on women, and shows how it invites both complicit and resistant reactions. The book lays bare the socio-political context that nurtures the cultural expressions of hegemonic masculinity under the rule of Xi Jinping. The president himself has emerged in public consciousness as the embodiment of the ideal able-responsible man. Based on anthropological fieldwork in Nanchong, Sichuan, the book provides new perspectives on many topical issues that China faces. These include urbanization, labour migration, the one-child policy, love and marriage, gender and intergenerational dynamics, hierarchical male relationships, and the rise of mass displays of nationalism. ‘In this richly informative book, Dr Wong gives us an intimate picture of masculinities in a contemporary Chinese city. She explores the role of wealth in definitions of masculinity, the moral dimension in gender imagery, the changing desires of women, and the role of the state—including a striking account of the gender strategies of President Xi. More than a local study, this book provides valuable ideas for understanding gender, men, and masculinities in the contemporary world.’ —Raewyn Connell, University of Sydney ‘Magdalena Wong asks wonderful, original questions. Her study might be one of the most pioneering investigations into Chinese family relations I have read. The strength of her book lies in its insight into kinship and cultural continuities and changes. The rich, nuanced case studies can make her book become an important addition to our ongoing studies on Chinese family.’ —William Jankowiak, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Drinker's paradise? -- How to drink in Japan -- Drunk crime -- Drunk driving -- Drunk others -- Punishing the drunk -- Drunk in society.

Drawing on the concept of the somatic self, Castro-Vázquez explores how Japanese men think about, express and interpret their experiences concerning bodyweight control. Based on an extensive ethnographic investigation, this book offers a compelling analysis of male obesity and overweight in Japan from a symbolic interactionism perspective to delve into structure, meaning, practice and subjectivity underpinning the experiences of a group of middle-aged, Japanese men grappling with body weight control. Castro-Vázquez frames obesity and overweight within historical and current global and sociological debates that help to highlight the significance of the Japanese case. By drawing on evidence from different locations and contexts, he sustains a comparative perspective to extend and deepen the analysis. A valuable resource for scholars both of contemporary masculinity and of medical sociology, especially those with a particular interest in Japan.

In East Asia’s largest cities, hundreds of thousands of women remain single into middle age and beyond, giving rise to a demographic transformation with profound implications for their societies. Labeled in the media as “loser dogs” and “parasites” in Japan and “leftover women” in mainland China and Hong Kong, single women in East Asia are criticized for being choosy, selfish, and overly independent. Based on ethnographic research and interviews with more than a hundred single women in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Tokyo, Making Our Own Destiny is the first study to comprehensively compare the views and experiences of single women living in these three great cities—cities that stand at the forefront of the region’s movement toward later marriage and rising singlehood. This well-researched book explores how single women attempt to take advantage of unprecedented opportunities for success in education and work while navigating marriage and family expectations. Unlike their counterparts in Europe and North America, many do not have romantic partners and most do not have children. What do these women want? How do they see themselves and their place in society? What are their values, goals, and dreams? As they work to balance opportunities with expectations, single women in urban East Asia find themselves deeply embedded in the caregiving systems of their societies. In Shanghai, author Lynne Nakano finds single women rushing to marry to enter intergenerational relationships of care. In Hong Kong, they consider the risks of marriage as they tend to the needs of natal and extended families. In Tokyo, many single women hope to marry to have children while others find a place for themselves in their families as elder caregivers. Nakano’s intimate portrayals not only expose meticulously planned family strategies gone awry, engagements broken, and careers abandoned, but also highlight the experiences of women embracing the joys of remaining single. Hers is a fascinating study of modern women finding meaning in their lives while offering an insightful glimpse into the future of urban families in an age of low fertility and long transitions into adulthood.

Drawing from political sociology, pop psychology, and film studies, Cinemas of Boyhood explores the important yet often overlooked subject of boys and boyhood in film. This collected volume features an eclectic range of films from British and Indian cinemas to silent Hollywood and the new Hollywood of the 1980s, culminating in a comprehensive overview of the diverse concerns surrounding representations of boyhood in film.

This book offers a critical analysis of gender mainstreaming initiatives in the post-tsunami context in Indonesia. Aiming to challenge the terms of the debate in gender mainstreaming and disaster reconstruction efforts, Jauhola offers an important contribution for the discussion of what ‘feminisms and disasters’ could be. The work provides an in-depth analysis of three governmental practices of gender mainstreaming: the use of the concept pair sex/gender; the use of gender analysis and the use of project management tools and local subversion that challenges the potential normative violence of gender mainstreaming. Providing feminist intersectional reading of gender mainstreaming the book aims to illustrate that this framework does not lack political alternatives, but rather, it offers an alternative focus for feminism and for the re-conceptualisation of ‘political’, and provides tools for practitioners of aid aiming to come to grips with the complexity of gender equality policy agenda and its potential violent social consequences in global politics. Drawing on extensive field research in Aceh, this text is one of the first book length studies, and thus provides a significant addition to Indonesian literatures on intersectional analysis of gender, religion, heteronormativity, and feminist subversive practice. It is a vital resource for those interested in understanding global interconnections of localised disaster and conflict reconstruction.